Huygens probe on Titan

BFrank · January-14th-2005, 06:17 PM

This is totally wild. A picture from the surface one of Saturn's moons.

Monte Smith · January-14th-2005, 06:39 PM

I agree, Frank. The moons of Saturn are one of the places in our own solar system where there could theoretically be life (besides like Earth, I mean). Tidal forces and volcanism create energy here and there also seem to be vast oceans.

O pioneers!

BFrank · January-15th-2005, 01:42 AM

It's a coastline!

...... on Titan!

Richardo Caerleoni · January-15th-2005, 06:46 AM

Titan....

Toxic Rain...High Winds...Vast Pools of Black Waste etc. ?

Sounds very like Manchester (UK)...Are you sure they landed in the right place?

(there is some "life" in Manchester...but not as we know it...)

Just joking!

RC.

Manchester - 2004

Monte Smith · January-15th-2005, 11:01 AM

Creme brulee! I love it:

Titan Probe Drops Into 'Creme Brulee'-Like Surface

By Kevin Krolicki

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Data sent back by the Huygens space probe from the Saturnian moon Titan show a frozen, orange world shrouded in a methane-rich haze with dark ice rocks dotting a riverbed-like surface the consistency of wet sand, scientists said on Saturday.

The Huygens probe, part of a $3 billion joint mission involving NASA (news - web sites) and the European and Italian space agencies, made its pioneering descent to Titan on Friday, sending back readings on the moon's atmosphere, composition and landscape.

Slowed by parachutes, Huygens took more than two hours to float to the icy surface, where it defied expectations of a quick death and continued to transmit for at least two hours.

Along with scientific instruments that measure the components of Titan's atmosphere, Huygens carried a sound recorder and lamp to look for signs of surface liquid.

One reading from an instrument protruding from the front of the saucer-shaped craft to gauge how deeply it penetrated upon impact suggested that the moon's surface was the consistency of wet sand or clay.

"We think this is a material which may have a thin crust, followed by a region of relatively uniform consistency," John Zarnecki, the scientist in charge of experiments on Titan's surface said at a televised news conference from the control center in Germany.

Zarnecki said one of his colleagues had suggested another analogy: creme brulee. "But I don't suppose that will be appearing in any of our papers," he said.

Titan, believed to be the only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere, is larger than the planet Mercury. Scientists believe a study of the icy moon could yield clues about how life developed on Earth.

METHANE MYSTERY

One of the mysteries of Titan is the amount of methane that surrounds it, prompting speculation that there might be oceans of the element on its surface or below.

Some have also questioned whether the impact of a meteorite -- or some other event -- could have thrown off enough heat to liquefy water on Titan, where the surface is now an extreme cold measured at minus 292 F.

A panoramic picture sent back from Huygens shows what appears to be a coastal area with banks of fog-like clouds just above and a root-like system of rivulets just inland.

"It's almost impossible to resist the speculation that this is a drainage channel, that we're seeing a shoreline," said Martin Tomasko, a University of Arizona professor and the key researcher on images of the moon.

"You have the feeling that maybe this was wet not too far ago," he said.

Other rock-sized objects photographed in an apparent flow channel on the gold-orange surface of Titan measured appear to frozen blocks of water ice, Tomasko said, although he cautioned more study was needed.

"We just don't have the answers to many of the questions you can think to ask," he said. "Given a little bit of time we will mine (the data) for a new understanding of this mysterious world that has been veiled from our view for so long."

The mass spectrometer onboard Huygens, a complex instrument designed to analyze molecules in the atmosphere of Titan and on its surface, picked up evidence of a thick cloud of methane about 11-12 miles above the surface.

Once on the surface, a heated tube from the craft showed surface material evaporating and producing more methane.

European Space Agency officials said they would investigate why a second, back-up radio channel failed to transmit some data back from the Huygens probe.

The loss of that signal made it impossible to get immediate results from an experiment that had been intended to track wind direction and strength in Titan's atmosphere, scientists said.

But using data from radio telescopes in Australia, China, Japan, the United States and Europe, Huygens scientists said they expected to be able to piece together similar information over time.

The Cassini-Huygens mission to study Saturn's rings and moons was launched in 1997 and is named after two 17th-century European astronomers: Christiaan Huygens, who discovered Saturn's rings and Titan, and Jean-Dominique Cassini, who discovered the planet's other four major moons.

Richardo Caerleoni · January-15th-2005, 01:29 PM

"The colour image shows the surface of Titan is bright orange with a tangerine sky, with "boulders" probably formed from ice."

"Bad Trip, Man!" ....John Lennon got there before them?

RC.

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,
Towering over your head.
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,
And she’s gone."

BFrank · January-15th-2005, 04:42 PM

Hmmmmmmm. I see what you mean!

Richardo Caerleoni · January-15th-2005, 04:54 PM

Despite my stupid "jokes"...they are amazing photographs and a great
achievement...and more to come.

Rc.

BFrank · January-15th-2005, 05:16 PM

AntManBee · January-17th-2005, 06:36 AM

Quote:

That looks like a nice album cover.

Richardo Caerleoni · January-17th-2005, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AntManBee

That looks like a nice album cover.

"Lars Gullin..."Blues for Titan"...The Lost sessions" !

Hey, I would buy it!

RC.

BFrank · January-17th-2005, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richardo Caerleoni

"Lars Gullin..."Blues for Titan"...The Lost sessions" !

Hey, I would buy it!

RC.

I'm holding out for "The Complete Blues for Titan Sessions" myself.

Chris D · January-17th-2005, 03:05 PM

What a feat of engineering to hit Titan at all. That the probe provided any pictures/data at all is indeed nigh onto a miracle.

Coda · January-17th-2005, 03:10 PM

These have got to be the most expensive photographs ever taken. Ever.

Can anyone think of a more expensive photo?

Don't flame me, it's worth the $. Just pointing out some useless trivia.

Richardo Caerleoni · January-17th-2005, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coda

These have got to be the most expensive photographs ever taken. Ever.

Can anyone think of a more expensive photo?Don't flame me, it's worth the $. Just pointing out some useless trivia.

Landing here would be impressive!

RC.

BFrank · January-17th-2005, 03:26 PM

You can now view all the "raw images" send down from Titan. A lot of them look the same, but it's worth flipping through all 37 pages. There are quite a few interesting shots towards the end.

Raw images from Huygens